Simon & Dave,
I would highly recommend twisting and braiding wires to keep them under control. It's not that difficult to learn and the wires remain supple enough to move around but stay in place. Here's a simple tutorial for a three-wire braid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxJY4lna5q0
For two-wires I just twist them together to achieve a semi-compact twist.
For added assurance where wires are close to drive trains, a piece of Kapton tape does the trick. Kapton tape also works very well for securing decoders when space is a premium...and when it's not.
HTH,
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
snjroyFor securing wires in a tender or loco, I use silicone, which can be easily removed if needed.
Hi Simon,
My problem is that I'm too impatient. I don't like to have to wait for hours while the glue sets. I am currently using tiny amounts of Glooz-It to hold the decoders and the wires. It sticks to the Scale Speaker Systems enclosures fairly well but it can be peeled off if needed.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Great job on the trucks Dave. Very clean.
For securing wires in a tender or loco, I use silicone, which can be easily removed if needed.
Simon
Before I could install the second decoder I had to build a set of power pickup trucks for the tender. For those who might be interested, here is how I add power pickup to my trucks:
The first requirement is that the trucks must be made of Delrin. My method will short out the tracks if it were to be used on metal trucks, and Tichy's styrene archbar trucks are too fragile for me to work with.
In addition to the trucks, you will need:
- 0-80 x 1/4" brass bolts with washers and nuts,
- Phosphor bronze wire. I use Tichy 0.015". Anything thinner is too easy to knock out of position and anything thicker can be hard to adjust for the proper tension on the wheels,
- Red and black decoder wire.
The first step is to tap the truck cross members for the 0-80 bolts. Kadee sells a kit with all the necessary bits and the tap. You want the holes to be about half way between the center pivot and the side frames:
Then put the bolts through the truck with the washer next to the bolt head so that both are on the top of the truck. At this point you will need to make sure that the bolt heads clear the bolsters. In some cases a bit of material will need to be removed from the bolsters to clear the bolts. If you don't like the idea of chopping into your prized models my method is not for you.
Next step is to form the contact wires. I use a pair of small round jaw pliers to bend a 180 degree loop about 1 1/4" from the end of the wire. Slide the loop under the washer and you will be able to see where you need to bend the wire 90 degrees so it will contact the wheel tread. Sorry about the blurry picture:
Once you have bent the wire so it will rest on the wheel treads, clip the wire off even with the ends of the sideframes:
The next step is to solder the decoder wires to the pickup wires. In order to avoid melting the truck, you will want to remove the pickup wires. I solder the decoder wire to one of the contact wires that touch the wheel tread about 1/8" from the bend in the contact wire. The wire has to clear both the truck cross member and the wheel. make sure the decoder wires point upwards:
Once the contact wires are lined up, install the nuts and tighten them. Doing that can be a bit tricky because the contact wires tend to want to move out of place. I add a drop of CA to the nuts to make sure they won't come loose.
The last step is to adjust the tension on the contact wires. The wheels will not roll freely but there shouldn't be a lot of resistance.
I actually picked up my soldering iron last night and installed a LokSound Micro decoder in the tender of one of the plow train locomotives. Tonight I will do the one for the other locomotive.
I haven't installed a decoder for who knows how long, but things went very smoothly. I managed to get the wires reasonably well organized, and I didn't glue everything permanently in place. I made that mistake on several previous installations only to discover how difficult it is to remove a wire that is glued down with CA. I guess I'm a slow learner.
I'm waiting for some double sided tape to secure the wiring in place. I need something that is fairly thin because the clearance between the tender shell and the large SSS (Scale Speaker Systems) speaker enclosure is very tight. There isn't enough room to use a foam core tape. I tried using carpet tape but it would not stick to the 3D printed speaker enclosure at all.
I have to program the two decoders with my customized plow sounds. I hope I can remember how to do that. The recording requires a little tuning because there is a very slight pause part way through. It is just long enough to be noticeable and rather annoying.
Pictures and sound video to follow.
WOW!!
75,ooo+ views.
I'll get my butt in gear when I get home from cottage country on Friday.
Thanks everyone!
At least you are doing something, I have done nothing for over a year, just too many real world problems so I haven't felt like it.
I made a tiny wee bit of progress with the decoder installation on one of the locomotives. I managed to get the decoder insulated and glued into place.
You may recall that I had messed up the heat shrink tube that came uninstalled with the decoder. I decided that the easiest way to insulate the decoder was to wrap it in kapton (sp?) tape so that is what I did. I then used a bit of Glooz-It to secure it in place.
The next step will be to connect all the wires. I haven't installed a decoder in a long while so I will take my time to make sure I get it right.
Further to the question about whether or not the plug in the LokSound micro decoder is reversible, I received no definitive answers on the Loksound forums so I am just going to let it go. I can fit the decoder on an angle and that will leave enough room for the wires.
I managed to destroy one piece of shrink wrap tubing that came uninstalled with the LokSound micro decoders. I tried to use a hot soldering iron and it came in contact with the tubing thanks to my shaky hands. It instantly created a large hole.
I ordered some shrink wrap tubing from Digi-Key but the walls are quite thick so I am worried about it causing the decoder to overheat. Can I use Kapton tape to wrap the decoder or will it create overheating problems?)
I finally sat down last night to see how well the new micro LokSound decoders fit into the two locomotives' tenders. They will fit okay but I was a bit surprised at how long they are. They are only about 1/8" shorter than a standard LokSound V5 when the wiring harnesses are installed.
This brings up an interesting point. The plug on the wiring harness will fit into the socket on the decoder in two directions. It can be installed with the wires pointing away from the decoder or it can be installed with the wires pointing towards the decoder. All the pictures show the harness pointing away from the decoder, and I very much doubt that the plug is reversable, so why wouldn't the plug be made to fit only one way? If the plug could fit with the wires pointing towards the decoder, the whole assembly would be about 1/4" shorter.
I'm going to ask the question on the ESU forums. Stay tuned.
After I get the new decoders installed I will have to load the custom snow train sounds into both engines. I'm going to refine the sound files a bit before doing so.
I promise that I will not let this thread die. I will finish the snow train! However, for now, I have become rather seriously preoccupied with making progress on my layout and that's where my focus will be for some time while I sort out all of the myriad of details.
The harnesses for the LokSound Micro decoders are supposed to arrive today. I may get inspired and see if I can hook up the decoders. I haven't done one in a while.
I had another delaying issue pop up today. I had ordered two LokSound 5 DCC Micro 'Next 18' decoders for the locomotive tenders but they came without wiring harnesses! I went back to Tony's Trains and they showed the harnesses as being a 'pre-order' with no predicted date of arrival. I wonder why ESU would release their latest decoder without the harness being available. Soldering to the tabs by hand would be nearly impossible.
If anyone happens to know a dealer who has them in stock, please let me know. I'm going to contact LokSound too.
Edit: I found two harnesses in England.
Very glad to hear that your surgery went well and you're on the road to recovery!
York1 John
I haven't abandoned this thread. I just haven't been able sit at my work table because of the discomfort from my knee. I can sit at the computer(the chair is higher) so I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks working on my control panel designs.
Stay tuned,
Hi gang,
I'm back from cottage country. I want to tell you that the snow train will be put on hold for a little while. I am having knee surgery next Friday so I might not be able to get to the workshop or the computer for a week or so after that. In the interim, before my surgery, I will be working on some details surrounding my layout construction.
hon30critterWe take so much stuff with us when we travel that there is no room for trains!
Hi Mark,
We take so much stuff with us when we travel that there is no room for trains!
YOU'RE NOT TAKING THE TRAIN WITH YOU?!?!?
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Hi everyone,
I'm going to be away for a few days so there won't be any work done on the snow plow train until I'm back.
Another senior's moment:
I am working on putting decoders and new speakers into the two steam engine tenders. While I am waiting for the decoders to arrive I decided to reinstall the trucks so I could route the wiring up through the frames. Problem was that I couldn't find the trucks! I spent an hour searching through the clutter on my workbench but no trucks.
I decided to add pick up to a couple of pairs of new trucks but I discovered that I only had one pair of delrin archbar trucks that were not in use. I actually had several pairs of archbar trucks but all the others were Kadee self centering trucks and they are not suitable for adding pickups without destroying the self centering properties. I liberated a pair of non-self centering trucks from another car and I will replace those with the self centering variety.
That still didn't solve the mystery of where the original tender trucks went. Tonight I finally figured it out. I realized that I had used the tenders' power pickup trucks on the crew car and the cook car.
I need to pay more attention to what I am doing!
Okay Bear, how about at least a little nudge?
To be honest, I am enjoying the distraction from the plow project that is being provided by my renewed attention to the layout. I will share my time between both threads, but please don't be irritated if there are a few days between posts on either thread.
hon30critterSomebody kick my butt!
Kick by Bear, on Flickr
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I'm waiting for some parts so that I can finish work on the two steam locomotives. I need two Loksound V5 Micro sound decoders. They are on their way from Tony's Train Exchange.
I also need some delrin arch bar trucks. I managed to misplace the trucks for one of the tenders and I need several sets to equip the Crew Car and other cars in the train. I have a bunch of old metal sprung archbar trucks but it is difficult to add all wheel power pick up to them. I also have a box of Tichy arch bar truck kits but, while they are nicely detailed and the bars are closer to scale, they are way too fragile to add power pick ups to, at least for me.
I also need to change the trucks on the plow itself. The trucks that I have on it now are too modern for 1900. Also, the front truck on the plow is not sprung. It has a plate with a hole in it where the springs would reside and the side frames are mounted solidly on the cross beam. I tried to modify a Tichy truck but, again, it proved to be too fragile.
I haven't decided what to do while I wait. Somebody kick my butt!
I have started a separate thread about the resumption of my layout construction. You can follow it here:
https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/295966.aspx
Regarding having the track and electrical work done professionally, I have received two estimates.
The first was quite expensive and I was not willing to spend that sort of money.
The second was much more affordable and it comes from a builder who has posted many videos of his work on You-Tube that I have watched. He is terrifically talented. I have asked him to send me a contract.
To say that I am happy would be a huge understatement. The work won't be done until next summer. I have been waiting for 18 years to have a layout so waiting an additional year is peanuts.
I discovered that there isn't enough space left in the tender for a regular sized Loksound 5 decoder after I installed the Scale Sound Systems speaker. That left me with two choices. Either I could order a smaller speaker or switch to a Loksound 5 Micro decoder. I decided to go for the Micro decoder in order to maximize the sound quality. Hopefully it won't take too long for the decoders to arrive (I ordered two).
I am considering changing my approach to installing the track and the wiring on my layout. Namely, I am thinking about having the work done professionally. Doing that will be expensive because I couldn't find anyone in Canada who is in the business. If anyone knows of a Canadian layout builder please let me know.
Up until a few days ago the thought of having the track and wiring done for me was out of the question. However, circumstances have changed. One of my uncles recently passed away and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that he had included me in his will.
I am in the process of getting quotes. One company made an interesting suggestion to save me some money. He proposed that we ship the layout to Detroit where he could pick it up and work on it in his workshop instead of spending a small fortune for travel and accommodations to come here. The layout is already on casters and is quite solidly built so it wouldn't be likely to suffer any damage in transit. I am not going to get them to do any scenery or structures so all that would be needed is that a shallow box be installed to protect the track on the return trip.
We shall see.
Good morning
The Bear Regarding Eds first interior photo, you may have to have the reach of an orangutang but I find it interesting that you can be sitting on the loo yet reach up to grab the cord thar activates the emergency brake. At least you wouldn't be caught with your pants down!
Regarding Eds first interior photo, you may have to have the reach of an orangutang but I find it interesting that you can be sitting on the loo yet reach up to grab the cord thar activates the emergency brake.
As well you can reach into the electrical works to mend a fuse if the lights go out before you're done with the latest issue of Model Railroader
ACF Lot 2765 61205-O by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Very resourceful those designers were! Don't wanna know what that sledge hammer is for
Cheers, Ed
ACF Lot 2765 61205-N by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr